A potential vice presidential pick for Kamala Harris, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), is facing scrutiny over his ties to a company that manufactures spy balloons, including one that received funding from a venture capitalist closely linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Kelly co-founded World View, a Tucson-based company that specializes in space tourism using spy balloons. The company received funding from Tencent, a CCP-linked venture capitalist, in 2013 and 2016. Tencent has been accused of having close ties to the CCP, with reports suggesting that it has a “party members first” rule when hiring new employees and celebrates “Party Member Day” every year.
World View has an agreement with the U.S. government to provide aerial surveillance using their balloons. However, the company’s ties to Tencent have raised concerns about potential security risks. According to reports, Tencent collects data from its mobile app, WeChat, which is used as a surveillance tool for the Chinese government.
Kelly’s involvement with World View has sparked concerns about his potential ties to the CCP. However, a spokesperson for the company said that Kelly left the company in 2019 to focus on his political career and that any leftover financial interest he has in the company is stored in a blind trust.
The spokesperson also confirmed that Kelly surrendered his assets and control of the company before leaving. Additionally, the current leadership of Tencent has distanced itself from the company’s past investment in World View, saying it was a mistake to accept Chinese investment.
